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To South Korea, Is Japan Actually A Military Threat?
Having a deep interest in all things related to the military (from history, equipment, tactics, doctrine, organization and so on) since elementary school, as a child I sometimes wondered how a modern total war between South Korea and Japan would look like. Growing up in the Korean community, hearing comparisons – and at times derogatory…
The perpetual failures of Opposition Parties in Singapore
Tan Cheng Bock’s announcement to enter Opposition Politics has created all sort of “whirlwinds” in Singapore politics. Right at the back of the “excitement” that surrounds the victory of Pakatan Harapan over the Barisan Nasional next door over in Malaysia – gave Opposition politicians and their supporters much to be excited and hopeful. However, I…
Unravelling the water dispute mystery between Singapore and Malaysia
THE MATHS 1000 gallon = 4.54609 m3 malaysia sell raw water at 3 sen per 1000 gallonmalaysia buy treated water at 50 sen per 1000 gallonsingapore spend 2.40 ringgit to treat per 1000 gallonsingapore lost 1.90 ringgit per 1000 gallon Malaysian water tariff is currently at:80 sens per cubic meter /3.60 ringgit per 1000 gallon(0-20…
Asia Times: Why Suu Kyi can’t and won’t democratize Myanmar.
https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/02/article/why-suu-kyi-cant-and-wont-democratize-myanmar/ If you do not understand the fundamentals of Myanmar politics and itsconstitution – then you will never understand why Aung San Suu Kyi do not have real power, and why the Rohingya issue will never be resolved the way you think it should be resolved. This is an article which I personally had wanted…
Reconsidering the Individual Weapon Optic
The individual weapon optic has seen considerable evolution in the 21st century. Optics are one of the areas in small arms that have seen consistent and considerable innovation, where most other aspects of firearm technology have stagnated or remained relatively constant. Most western militaries use a weapon optic of some sort of another on the…
2018 “A Year of What the Heck” Review
2019 is upon us, looking back, the past year has been full of surprise in term of geopolitics and defense policy. As an inside note, I often joke that 2018 is the ‘year of what the heck’ where world leaders take for the strangest turn possible. So before we step forward into the rest of…
ChannelNewsAsia: Canada arrests Huawei CFO, to extradite her to US
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/huawei-cfo-arrested-canada-extradite-us-iran-sanctions-11001504 As typical of Trump’s administration, every “positive” moves for his rivals, will be followed with a barrage of intense pressure and “negative” moves. Cover Photo: From CBC: Meng Wanzhou is the deputy chairwoman and CFO for the Chinese tech giant Huawei. According to reports she is wanted by the United States for allegedly contravening…
Haaretz: Palestinians Seek Emergency Arab League Session Over Israel’s Warming Ties With Arab States
Palestinians seek emergency Arab League session over Israel’s warming ties with Arab states Developments Such as Netanyahu’s Visit to Oman, a Visit by Chad’s President in Israel and Reports on Israeli Attempts to Tighten Relations With Sudan and Bahrain in the Future Are ‘Worrisome’, Says Abbas Adviser Nabil Sha’ath The Palestinian delusion about their situation…
Nikkei: The party turns sour for Xi
The party turns sour for Xi Political anniversaries in China are big deals. This year — the 40th anniversary of the start of China’s economic reform — is no exception. Unfortun A powerful article. Highly recommended for you guys to read. I shall not add any more comments on this for now. Cover Photo: ©…
Hindustan Times: Why Amnesty was wrong to strip Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi of top honour
Why Amnesty was wrong to strip Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi of top honour ‘Speaking up’ will make her look good with the international Press, but it will do nothing for the challenges Myanmar faces. The international community needs to strengthen her hands, not weaken them. The author is exactly spot on the political realities…
SinoInsider: Fang Fenghui’s Expulsion, Meng Hongwei’s Arrest, and the Factional ‘Soft Coup’
Click on the link to read more: Politics Watch: Fang Fenghui’s Expulsion, Meng Hongwei’s Arrest, and the Factional ‘Soft Coup’ ◎ We believe that the expulsion of Fang Fenghui and Zhang Yang from the CCP is connected with the recent purge of Interpol chief Meng Hongwei. The Chinese Communist Party Central Committee announced the expulsion…
SinoInsider: The World is Trapped in Red China’s Matrix
By Don Tse and Larry Ong Summary Chinese Communist Party has long carried out influence operations to survive and dominate. Decades of CCP influence activity has created a “Red Matrix,” or an informational environment that is pro-China and missing critical knowledge about the Party and its operations. The Soviet Iron Curtain served to “block out”…
And it’s not even a trade war, and China is destined to lose
In my previous article on the soybeans ( http://defensepoliticsasia.com/why-china-import-soybeans-from-the-us/ ), we could already see that China had no choice but to import soybeans from abroad; and most notably, from the United States. China, throughout history, had always been a civilisation that opts for self-sufficiency over depending on any outside countries/import/resources. As part of the Chinese psyche,…
RT: Russia’s Su-57 jet gets hypersonic missile that can shoot down enemy aircraft ‘300km away’
Russia’s Su-57 jet gets hypersonic missile that can shoot down enemy aircraft ‘300km away’ A hypersonic anti-aircraft missile with a range of over 300km will be part of the arsenal of the Su-57, Russia’s most-advanced multipurpose fighter jet. The weapon is meant to take out high-value targets with impunity. The updated missile’s main feature is…
Iran’s Enemies Strike Back
Bilahari Kausikan shared this awesome article on his facebook, so we decided that it would be a good read for DPA readers. Log in or sign up to view See posts, photos and more on Facebook. Sept. 26, 2018 By George Friedman Iran’s Enemies Strike Back The government in Tehran made its move. Now, it’s…
NIKKEI Asian Review: Russia flaunts China ties with massive Far East war games
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/Russia-flaunts-China-ties-with-massive-Far-East-war-games Russia is gearing up to carry out its biggest war games in nearly four decades, inviting China to showcase their growing military cooperation amid the countries’ increasing friction with the U.S. The Vostok-2018 exercises, slated for Sept. 11-15 in the Russian Far East, will be the country’s largest since Soviet-era games in 1981, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu…
The Telegraph: Japan and North Korea held secret meeting
Japan and North Korea held secret meeting as Shinzo Abe ‘loses trust’ in Donald Trump Japan held a “secret” meeting with North Korea in Vietnam in July without informing the United States, according to media reports. Talks were reportedly held between Shigeru Kitamura, head of Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and Kim Song-hye, a…
Freight Waves: Five years in, China’s Belt and Road looks like a giant debt trap
Five years in, China’s Belt and Road looks like a giant debt trap There’s mounting pushback among developing nations that China’s ambitious infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, is a debt trap. Countries using Chinese financing have seen public debt soar to unsustainable levels, and they’re increasingly worried about asset seizures. The Belt and…
Washington Post: Facebook blocks accounts of Myanmar’s top general, other military leaders
Facebook blocks accounts of Myanmar’s top general, other military leaders The social media giant took the rare step the same day that a scathing U.N. report called for war-crimes prosecutions of Myanmar’s top military brass. Without consulting the Myanmar government, Facebook on Monday removed Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing’s page from its platform, along with…
SCMP: Many Chinese companies ‘will go bankrupt’
Original Article: Many Chinese companies ‘will go bankrupt’, if US delivers on tariff threats, court newspaper warns In an opinion piece published on Wednesday by People’s Court Daily, Du Wanhua, deputy director of an advisory committee to the Supreme People’s Court, said that courts needed to be aware of the potential harm the tariff row could cause. “It’s…
South Front: Russia and FSA reach initial agreement on Southern Syria
Original Article: RUSSIA AND FREE SYRIAN ARMY REACH INITIAL AGREEMENT ON SOUTHERN SYRIA – REPORTS Photo by SANA, from SouthFront.org On July 6, the US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Russia reached an initial agreement on southern Syria during a meeting in the town of Bosra al-Sham, according to the Syrian new outlet Enab Baladi. Under…
Johor Southern Tigers: Tunku Mahkota Johor thanks Singapore for water assistance
Log in or sign up to view See posts, photos and more on Facebook. Additional Context by Today Online: Johor Crown Prince calls S’pore a ‘neighbour and a friend’ for assistance during drought seasons In June 2016, Singapore supplied an extra six million gallons of potable water a day to Johor at the request of the…
Haaretz: Assad Preparing to Retake Southwest Syria
Original Article: Assad Preparing to Retake Southwest Syria and Israel Will Have to Decide Whether to Intervene The focus of this snapshot will be on the geopolitical side of the issue: mainly to do with what Israel want, and can do. Moscow wants an agreement under which some of the rebels would voluntarily evacuate parts of…
Business Insider: China tries to censor Vanuatu on “60 Minutes”
Original Article: How China tried to shut down Australian media coverage of its debt-trap diplomacy in the Pacific This is astounding, to say the least. Five days before Australia’s “60 Minutes” program aired a report on China’s dept-trap diplomacy in the Pacific region, the show received an unusually aggressive phone call. “Take this down and take it…
SCMP: China is not a world leader in science and technology
Original Article: China must stop fooling itself it is a world leader in science and technology, magazine editor says Cover Photo from SCMP Liu Yadong, editor-in-chief of Science and Technology Daily. Photo from SCMP. “The large gap in science and technology between China and developed countries in the West, including the US, should be common knowledge, and…